As the saying goes, “age doesn’t matter, unless you’re cheese”. Beyond its attempt to be funny, there is actually a certain truth behind such saying. Ageing in cheese, sometimes called ripening, is the most important part in making cheese.

Cheese are laid to rest in particularly controlled situations where they are allowed to develop the look, the texture, the flavor, as well as the aroma properties that make them unique. When ripened properly, the bloom blossoms on Camembert, the holes become the classic Swiss, and the veins transform into Gorgonzola.

As a cheese ripens, microbes and enzymes develop inside, breaking down the proteins and the milk fat into several complex combinations of amino acids, amines and fatty acids. The result, a rich texture and an intense flavor.

Most cheeses are aged between two weeks and up to two or several more years. Therefore, the longer the cheese is aged, the firmer, sharper and more distinctive its texture becomes.

Cheeses like the Stravecchio Parmigiano Reggiano for example, are ripened for 24 to 36 months, giving it a nutty-fruity taste and a hard, gritty texture. Some cheeses are eaten fresh right away and not ripened at all, just like the ricotta, cream, and cottage cheeses.

However, there are some cheeses that are ripened halfway through these cheeses are called semi-aged cheese for only about 5 to 10 weeks only. And one of the best tasting semi-aged cheeses available in the market today is the Bucheron cheese.

Bucheron is a goat’s milk cheese, a native produce of Loire Valley in France. is a very favorite ingredient for salads and sandwiches because of its rich taste and is widely available as well. Its soft, creamy center has almost the same texture of ordinary chevre (goat cheese), but Bucheron is far from ordinary.

Aside from its gooey and creamy taste, Bucheron cheese is also different because it is made in short logs and aged before cutting it into smaller rounds. Around its creamy center is a ring of a harder and tangier cheese that will tickle you taste buds with a unique sharpness and complexity, absent in typical chevre.

The Bucheron cheese has a very interesting characteristic it has a layer of gooey cheese around the large chalky core, plus a thin bloomy layer of mold like that of brie cheese thanks to its youth. Softly ripened cheeses age from the outside in, thus explaining its interesting center.

Buying the Bucheron cheese is like buying two different cheeses at once: a creamy, mushroomy center, and a dry, clay-like and tangy fresh goat milk at the crust. It tastes perfectly with Bordeaux’s or any other dry. Pair it with Bordeaux’s or any dry whites and sink slowly into heaven.

Find out more about Bucheron.

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